At the start of the pandemic, event marketers were doing everything they could to re-create in-person experiences online.
Spoiler alert: Y’all have been crushing it.
As we all became more comfortable with virtual, we instantly started seeing the industry’s best pull off more advanced, highly engaging formats — most notable being events with breakout sessions.
Breakouts are so popular because they empower the attendee to create their own experience — an exciting departure from one-size-fits-all programming.
Let’s take a look at how event marketers are using Splash to run their virtual breakout events.
For a deeper dive on all the strategies below, check out this Help Center topic.
Just because breakouts have more moving parts than a one-track event doesn't mean they require a complex registration flow.
In fact, you can allow guests to sign up for breakouts right on your registration form.
On you form, add a multi-choice question that lets guests choose the breakouts they’d like to attend.
Your guests will love the simplicity.
As a best practice, you can set capacities for each breakout by using Response Limits. This lets you show the number of remaining spots and even remove breakout options once they reach capacity.
Now for your guest list. Breakout data is neatly stored in a comma-separated column, so it’s easy to see what each guest is registered for.
More importantly, you can filter your guest list by each breakout so you can quickly generate an attendance report.
Filtering also lets you be on-point with your reminder emails — a crucial way to drive guests to your virtual venue.
You can filter by the breakout...
...then add the guests to a custom list that you'll send a targeted email to, like a reminder or "know before you go."
In this example, the host is adding all Drip Coffee registrants to an email list that'll receive the virtual viewing link 15 minutes before the breakout starts.
The breakout's reminder email will typically include simple instructions and a can't-miss CTA for joining the session.
A lot of events are okay with guests jumping between sessions — even ones they didn't register for.
If that's the case, you can further simplify communications by including all of your breakout viewing links in a general reminder email, or even listing them on the event page's agenda for easy reference.
A Hub is landing page that organizes and displays multiple events.
If you think of a breakouts as multiple "events within an event," then it's no surprise that Hubs are the most popular option for powering this use case.
When you use a Hub to list your breakouts, it means you're going to create each breakout as its own event in Splash, which you'll link out to from the Hub.
This option gives you the most control because you can manage each breakout as if it's a full-on event — with its own event page, registration form, guest list, integrations, emails, and virtual tools.
Plus, Hubs make your breakouts look stylish and important.
So if you're hosting five breakouts, you'll create five separate event pages.
The beauty of this option is you can distinguish each breakout with its own title, header image, speaker section, resources, and agenda. You can really brand each one differently.
You can also set a registration capacity and waitlist, and program unique confirmation emails and calendar invites.
We recommend using the Splash Virtual Event Page Touchpoint.
It's perfectly suited for the breakouts use case because it lets you create a beautiful "virtual venue" for each session and collect real-time data on attendance.
Using the Virtual Touchpoint, you'll be able to embed your webinar or streaming platform — Zoom, YouTube Live, Vimeo, and most other major services — onto a branded viewing page, or link out to that platform from a check-in screen.
Check out the guest experience:
So when you're setting up your breakouts in Splash, you have two responsibilities for their virtual components:
If you'll use Zoom or Vimeo, all you need to do is enter the Event ID and it'll be automatically embedded. For other services, such as YouTube Live, LinkedIn Live, or Facebook Live, you simply need an embed code.
As with any event, your goal is to get attendees through the door — live or virtually.
Make sure you set up each breakout's confirmation and reminder emails to include the the guest's personal access link. Here's a full checklist that includes all our best practices.
The personal access link — which is generated using the [virtual_event_url] dynamic tag — will bring the guest to your virtual breakout, either embedded on a branded landing page or occurring natively in your webinar or streaming platform. It's important that each reminder email uses the personal access link as the primary call to action.
This link is like magic because it checks in your guests, records when they leave, and prevents the breakout from being attended by unregistered guests.
Your Hub will function as the centerpiece of the event, so not only will it link to all of your breakout programming, but it's an opportunity to describe the event, provide an agenda, highlight your speakers, and just generally get your audience excited.
After you create the individual breakout pages, adding them to your Hub display will take just a few seconds. It's really satisfying.
Adding Splash Events To A Hub from Splash on Vimeo.
Pro tip: Go into the Hub’s Settings and activate the auto-subscribe option.
This will add each breakout registrant to the Hub’s subscriber list, so you have a real-time count of total attendance across each session in one convenient location. This also allows you to automate a general confirmation email (from the Hub) with details about the full event.
Our third option uses Splash's Session management functionality paired with an event page theme that's optimized for the breakouts use case.
It marries the simplicity of a single event registration (Option 1) with the aesthetic and guest management advantages of using a Hub (Option 2).
What this means for guests: They're able to register for breakouts within the flow of the registration and add or update their agenda at any time before the event.
What this means for hosts: They can set up this experience, and manage all registrations and communication from a single event.
Yep, it's pretty awesome.
But it's important to make two call-outs:
1. The Breakouts Branded Theme is only available as a premium add-on. To get access to it, reach out to your CSM or Splash Support.
2. The Splash Session management tool does not yet integrate with the Virtual Event Page Touchpoint. We'll cover how to the virtual event experience works in the upcoming description.
The Breakouts Branded Theme has a seamless, two-step registration flow built in. This allows guests to sign up for your event then build an agenda full of breakouts.
So the first step is as important as it is simple: Make sure you create your even using the Breakouts Branded Theme.
When you enter an event's Sessions tab, you'll be prompted to add your breakouts — a similar process to creating an event, where you'll enter a title, date, time, capacity, and more.
Every session you create will automatically add a breakout to the sessions registration form.
Note: The Sessions Manager will act as your command center for managing each breakout's guest list and email communication.
One of the best parts of the guest experience is that guests are able to make updates to their personal agenda at any time leading up to the event. This lets you announce new breakouts throughout the events lifecycle — so exciting.
To make this happen, link to each guest's person sessions link in all of your confirmation and reminder emails.
Just insert the [session_page_url], and Splash will take care of the rest.
When the guest opens the link, it will bring them to the sessions registration page where they can see what they've registered for, add new sessions, and make cancellations.
The Sessions Manager has a separate guest list for each breakout. This makes it really easy to send pre-breakout reminder emails directing guests to its webinar link.
When it's time to send it out, go to the breakout's guest list inside the Sessions tab and select everyone who has registered.
Then choose your reminder email and either schedule or send.
No need to get fancy — you can pare the email down to your virtual link and include its start time. The simpler, the better.
It'll typically look something like this:
When you use the Sessions Manager, you get to maintain a guest list for each breakout. This means you're also able to have check-in reporting for each.
When you open the event in the Splash Host app, you're able to access the session and check guests in as they enter.
This leads to valuable post-event reporting and the ability to send out targeted "thank you" emails.
All events with breakouts share the goal of creating an intimate connection between their guests and their content.
Some would say that's where their similarities end because there are so many variations to the event format, especially now with the virtual factor.
Start by identifying the event type your virtual provider best supports. Then build your programing, registration plan, and run of show around its strengths.
Then remember there are two factors in your favor.
Your guests will remember the event for who they met and what they learned — not that it wasn't perfect.
See what went well, identify what can could be better, and plan your next one. Before long, you'll be on the fast-track to mastering this exciting event format.
